Overdrive kickdown control means



Feb. 24, 1953 N. E."WAHLBERG ETAL 2,629,454

OVERDRIVE xxcxnovm CONTROL MEANS Filed Oct. 21, 1946 NILS ERIK WAHLBERG JOSEPH F. SLADKY INVENTOR.

T IR ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 24, 1953 UNITED}? STATES PATENT OFFICE OVERDRIVE. KICKDOWN CONTROL MEANS Nils Erik -wahlberg Chicago, -Ill., and Joseph F;

Sla'dky, Plymouth,- Mich assignors to Nash-i Kelvinatcr Corporation, KenoshmxWis; a cor-..

poration of Maryland A plication October 21, 1946, Serial No, 704,718

6 GlailnS... (Cl. 1802-821) This":invention'"relates' to "control means and more-"particularlyrelates to control means for switches: used in "vehicles.

It" is an'obfect of this invention to providean adjustable control means for a switch associated with "a motor vehicle which controls the operation of the switch relative to the speed of the forward movement of the vehicle:

It*is--a-further object of this invention to provideawindcon-trol means for -a switchof the. motorvehicle which is easy to assemble and simple to adj ust;

It is another object of this invention to'provide awindcontrolled means forcontrolling the operation of-aswi-tc'h-of a motor vehicle which is" simple and-economical to manufacture.

Other'objects and advantages of theinvention willappear-irom=a consideration of the follow-. ing description;claims and accompanying drawings" wherein like-reference characters are used to "indicate like parts'andwhich consists of one sheet, in which:

Figure -lis a side elevational view-of the power unit of -'a motor vehicle'showing the invention, partiallyin section, as associated therewith;

Figured- 15 a plan view of the invention -as shown-in=Figure 1-;

Figure 3 is an enlarged side elevational View of a-portion of the invention as shown inFigure 1; and

Figure 4 is anen-larged view of a portion of the arrangement showninrFigure '1.

Illustrateddn-Figure -1 is an ordinary automobile engine i! with-the usual carburetor l asso'ciated'therewith anda manually controlled acceleratorpedal' fi connected to carburetor i by-cabl'e-t for rotating thethrottle leverid of carburetor 4 in a clockwise direction'when pedal 6 is depressed. When lever ifiis rotated-byde-. pressing pedal B, thethrottle valve (not shown) of carburetor A is opened'to accelerate the-en gine 2.

It'is a common practice in the development of semi-automatic" and automatic driving mechanisms for automobiles to provide means for shifting the speed'gear mechanism thereof to a lower gearbymerely depressing the accelerator pedal. This provisiongenerally is made to providemeans by which the operator of the vehicle may quickly and automatically return the speed gears to a'lower ratio to afford more pickup which maybe necessary in passing cars, etc. One means commonly used" in-provi'ding a mechanism for returning the speedgears to a'lower ratio is a kick down switch- 12 "which'is' operated by the accelerator-pedal 6 to -momentarily interrupt the ignition circuit when pedal 6-is'1de-J pressed to its extremelimit. A connection between-the accelerator pedal and switch' il is provided in the form of a rod 4'4 whicheissee. cured to lever H1 and crankarnr-ifi of switch. When pedal 6 is depressed rotating lever-i0tin a clockwise direction,-rod M will be pulled to rotate a crank arm- 1 5 in a counter-clockwise die rection to open kick-downswitch vl2.

It is not desirable-to attempt to reducewthe speed gear ratio :when the vehicle: is traveling at high rates of speed because'there is:th'e:inherent danger of damagingor destroying the gears. Therefore, applicants" have inventedxia means for preventing the opening of kick down switch i2 when the vehicle is traveling abovei a pre-determined speed.

The means for. preventing switch l2 from being opened when the-vehicle is traveling at excessive speeds is comprised of a cairyingzrbracket having a'horizontalportion ifi (Figures i21and 3) rigidly securedto the top of motorZ bynuts Z5 and a substantially:vertical' portion '22iex tending upward from 'saidportion:l8. .Alflat wind plate 24 is associatedwith. ve-rticaltportion 22 of the carrying bracket. by having'a'plurality of S-shaped extensions 26 eXtendingbel'ow-its lower edge and forwardly through 'apertures 28 which extend through portion 22f. PortionsuZB are loosely positioned within; apertures 28 to permit rotation of platazd. rearwardlyrfrornxportion 22 substantiallyahoutnthe.center'ofnapertures 28. {Plate 25 is provided .iiWithiIa. cut; out portion 3% which is bent rearwardly frorn'plate 24 so that it lies in a plane at" an angle thereto. A rod-32 'is' rigidly'secured withinanaperture in plate 24 and extends horizontally and-forward' 1y therefrom through-an aperture extending through-portion 22' of the bracket to its threaded end 36 around which was telescopically positioned a compression springfidwhich-is' held inabutment with portion'22' of the bracket by nuts-4E3 which are turned 'on-the threaded-end36' of-rod 32 to holdwasherdZ wl'iich-is telescopically positioned on red 32 against the forward end'of spring 33-. Wind plate zs is' carriedby portion 22"on the top-of the "forward endofthe engine 2 where plate 24 will be exposed to air currents passingthrough the radiator Moi the vehicle from-the outside-thereof: The velocity of said air currents is largely determined by the'speed at whichthe vehicle is traveling'and movement of plate Mrearwardly vfrom portion"Z'Z' hy the air currents will becontrolledbythe weight'of 3 pri g 38 and the amount said spring is compressed by turning the nuts 48 on the rod 32. By so doing, this mechanism may be set so that plate 24 will rotate rearwardly at any predetermined speed.

When plate 24 is rotated rearwardly, the upper end 46 of portion 30 will be moved below the outer end 48 of arm 50 which is formed as a part of crank arm [6 and extends forwardly and slightly upwardly therefrom. In this manner, when the vehicle is operating at a speed at which the air currents will rotate plate 24 rearwardly so that the end 46 of portion 3k) is below arm 50, rotation of arm 50 by rotating the crank arm IE will cause the end 48 of arm 56 to strike the end 46 of portion 30 thus preventing further rotation of crank arm [6 toward the position where switch 12 will be opened. Thus, the applicants have provided a means for preventing the opening of kick-down switch I2 when the vehicle is moving at speeds above a predetermined speed.

So that prevention of rotation of crank arm l6 by portion 30 of plate 24 does not prevent further rotation of throttle lever of carburetor 4 to further accelerate the engine 2, the applicants have provided a resilient connection between lever I0 and rod [4. Rod 52 having a blind threaded hole 54 tapped in the forward end thereof is turned on the rearward threaded end 56 of rod l4 and is rigidly secured in position thereon by a pair of nuts 58 telescopically positioned on portion 56 in abutment with the forward end of rod 52. Rod '52 is provided with a rearwardly extending reduced portion 60 which extends through an aperture in shaft 62 which is rotatably secured in a horizontal position in an aperture in the outer end of lever I0. A compression spring 64 is telescopically positioned on portion 60 of rod 52 between shaft 62 and a pair of nuts 66 which are turned on the rearward threaded end 68 of rod 52. Thus, if the operator wishes to accelerate the engine beyond the point at which end 48 of arm 50 will strike end 46 of portion 351, he may further depress pedal 6 further rotating lever In in a clockwise direction which will move shaft 62 rearwardly along portion 60 of rod 52 compressing spring 64.

In this manner the inventors have provided a control means responsive to air currents which is easy to assemble and adjust, and simple and economical to manufacture.

While the invention is described in much detail above, it is intended that this description is an example only and not limiting on the invention, to which we make the following claims:

1. In a motor vehicle, a switch, a crank arm associated with said switch for controlling same, means for rotating said crank arm, a means for selectively controlling the rotation of said crank arm and positioned so as to be exposed to air currents and comprising a bracket, a wind plate positioned against said bracket and pivotally secured at its one side thereto and exposed to said air currents and designed to be moved thereby to obstruct movement of said crank arm, and resilient means tending to hold said wind plate against said bracket to permit rotation of said crank arm.

2. In a motor vehicle, a switch, a rotatable crank secured to said switch for control thereof, a control means for said crank, a bracket, a wind plate pivotally secured at its one side and exposed to air currents, resilient means for holding said wind plate against said bracket against the force of said air currents, and means formed on said wind plate for preventing rotation of said crank when said wind plate is moved a predetermined distance relative to said bracket.

3. In a motor vehicle, an engine, a switch mounted on said engine, a rotatable crank associated with said switch for controlling operation thereof, a control means to actuate said crank, a substantially vertical bracket secured to said engine, a wind plate pivotally secured at its one edge to said bracket and having another portion thereof exposed to air currents, resilient means designed to hold said wind plate in engagement with said bracket against the force of said air currents, and means formed on said wind plate designed to prevent movement of said crank when said air currents are strong enough to move said plate a predetermined distance relative to said bracket.

4. In a motor vehicle, an engine, a switch mounted on said engine, a rotatable crank carried by said switch for controlling the operation thereof, a control means for actuating said crank, a substantially vertical bracket secured to said engine adjacent said switch, a wind plate pivotally secured at its one edge to said bracket and having a portion thereof exposed to the normal air currents present adjacent the engine of a vehicle, an aperture in said bracket, a threaded pin carried by said wind plate and extending through said bracket, a compression spring telescopically positioned around said pin and having its one end positioned against the side of said bracket remote from said wind plate, means turned on said threaded pin against the other end of said compression spring for selectively compressing same, and means formed on said wind plate designed to be moved into a position which will prevent rotation of said crank when the air currents move the exposed portion of said wind plate relative to said bracket against the weight of said spring.

5. In a motor vehicle, a switch, a switch arm, a manually controlled linkage connected to the switch arm, a bracket, a wind plate mounted on the bracket and movable relative thereto under the influence of moving air, said switch arm being movable by means of the linkage in one direction to open the switch and in another direction to close the switch, a finger formed on the wind plate and engageable with the switch arm when the vehicle exceeds a predetermined rate of speed so as to prevent movement of the switch arm in one of its normal directions of movement and a resilient member normally urging the wind plate toward a retracted position wherein the finger is outside of the path of movement of the switch arm whenever the speed of the vehicle is below a predetermined rate.

6. In a motor vehicle, a switch, an arm associated with the switch and movable in one direction to open the switch and in another direction to close the switch, a manually controlled linkage connected to said arm, a bracket. a wind plate mounted on the bracket, said wind plate being movable relative to the bracket and into the path of movement of the switch arm under the influence of moving air striking said plate, whereby whenever the vehicle speed reaches a predetermined rate said wind plate is moved into the path of movement of the switch arm and into engagement with the switch arm so as to prevent movement of the switch arm in one of its normal directions of movement, and a re silient member normally urging the wind plate NILS ERIK WAHIBERG, JOSEPH F. SLADKY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 1 file of this patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATEN'iS Name Date Cordray June 28, 1927 Philbrick et a1 "pct. 8, 1929 Claytor Jen. 30, 1940 Claytor May 5, 1942 Boyce et a1 12, 1944 Faver May 1, 1945 

